Lafacio Hearn (1850-1904), a bohemian, journalist and restless traveller, was best known for his books about Japan, especially his collections of Japanese legends and ghost stories.

THE TRAVELLERS' GUIDES (JONATHAN CAPE)Series Note:This series reprinted books, both fiction and non-fiction, originally published elsewhere. Despite the title of the series, most of the titles were not travel books.

The series was similar in conception to Penguin Classics, Penguin Modern Classics, World Classics and Everyman's Classics.

Nige (The Dabbler) opines that this series "constitutes...a snapshot of middle-to-high-brow taste in the mid-1920s" "gives a fascinating glimpse of literary fashion in the 1920s, including names that have endured, others that have been completely forgotten, and still others currently halfway to obscurity".

Each book was a hardback printed in blue cloth (with silver titles) with a Chinese yellow dustjacket.

The publisher's prospectus described the physical format of series as follows:A series of books in all branches of literature designed for the pocket, or for the small house where shelf space is scarce. Though the volumes measure only 7 inches by 4 3/4 inches, the page is arranged so that the margins are not unreasonably curtailed nor legibility sacrificed. The books are of a uniform thickness irrespective of the number of pages, and the paper, specially manufactured for the series, is remarkable opaque, even when it is thinnest. A semi-flexible form of binding has been adopted, as a safeguard against the damage inevitably associated with hasty packing. The cloth is an attractive shade of blue and has the title and author's name stamped in gold on the back [i.e. the spine].

The above-mentioned Nige also praises the physical format of the The Travellers' Library: "These are handsome little volumes, nicely designed and printed with care, a real pleasure to handle.